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Wear the Crown: Inspiring Stories and Photos of Modern-Day Martyrs

By Dan Wooding ASSIST News Service

CBN.com 
ATLANTA, GA (ANS) -- Wear the Crown, a new book by missionary and musician Bill Drake, vividly tells the tragic and awe-inspiring stories of some of today’s persecuted martyrs, as well as shows compelling photos from The Voice of the Martyrs, an interdenominational ministry dedicated to assisting the persecuted Church worldwide.

“It is especially relevant, given the recent release of End of the Spear, the movie about Nate Saint’s and Jim Elliot's fatal missionary trip to Ecuador,” said a spokesperson for Operation Mobilization USA.

“The book comes in the wake of reports that more people have been martyred for the sake of the gospel in the 20th century than in all the previous centuries combined. As many as 160,000 believers reportedly make ‘the ultimate sacrifice’ each year. At current rates, one in every 200 Christians around the world can expect to be martyred.”

The tragic stories of Sofia Sigfridsson and Karen Goldsworthy in the Philippines, Susianty Tinulele in Indonesia, Bonnie Witherall in Lebanon, Sergei Bessarab in Tajikistan and heretofore virtually anonymous others have the power to reinforce Christians’ faith and to inspire and change lives in highly significant and wonderful ways.

“The martyrs whose testimonies are recorded in this book would not want their lives or their stories to simply be a memorial,” writes Tom White, director of The Voice of the Martyrs, in the foreword. “The same Holy Spirit who caused them to be a witness continues to call us from inactivity to activity.”

Drake has been international music minister for Operation Mobilization (OM) (www.om.org) since 1991, first in the United Kingdom and now in Atlanta. OM partners with the Church for the evangelization of the world through Biblical teaching and lifestyle, cross-cultural discipleship training.

Drake presents his music and message around the country through a live experience called “Crowns.” His new CD, Aroma, will be released May 6.

Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). Wooding is the co-host of the weekly radio show, "Window on the World" and was, for ten years a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC.